Former Indian pacer, Zaheer Khan, has urged people to give Rishabh Pant some time to recover from his lean patch and excel as a captain as well, as the young stand-in captain has been severely criticized for his poor batting display and some of his decisions as a leader.
Team India lost the first two matches, where Pant made some errors, but the hosts made a brilliant comeback and won back-to-back matches to level the five-match T20I series 2-2 against South Africa. However, Pant’s struggle with the bat continued, as he has so far managed only 57 runs in his four outings.
Reacting to Pant’s struggle both as captain and batter, the former pacer said that the 24-year-old follows his instincts far too much and he just has to strike a balance between his instincts and practical things on the field to achieve success. He also backed Pant to come out of the bad phase and deliver both as captain and batter amid the heavy criticism.
Speaking to Cricbuzz about Pant, Zaheer Khan said: “When he scores runs, people talk about him. When he doesn't, people still talk about him. There’s a similar style of pattern in his captaincy. We have to give him time. He likes to think out of the box. He tries to follow his instincts far too much. He likes to take a lot of chances. He has to find that balance when he makes extreme decisions. It’s just like his batting.”
He added, “One thing that stands out about him is that he is very serious about his cricket. That no one can question. He is very passionate about the game. He wants to do things at a rapid pace. With time, he will get what he wants because he knows where he is headed.”
(With Cricbuzz Inputs)
